Means for securing pieces of jewelry to one another

ABSTRACT

A METHOD AND MEANS OF CONNECTING PIECES OF JEWELRY TO ONE ANOTHER AS A RESULT OF MECHANICAL INTERENGAGEMENT ONLY. THE INTERENGAGED PARTS CAN AND PREFEREBLY ARE, DEFORMED AS BY A PAIR OF PLIERS.

Jan. 5, 1971 D- G. NEWMAN ETAL 3,552,119

MEANS FOR SECURING PIECES OFJEWELRY TO ONE ANOTHER Filed April 22, 1968 UM Mn MMM 2 WW w-m m mm \v-\\\ ,G \////Z\ w m M M w i 2 3 w 6 ,0 6 0 a m F United States Patent 3,552,119 MEANS FOR SECURING PIECES OF JEWELRY TO ONE ANOTHER Douglas George Newman, 46 Silver Lane, Billingshurst, England, and John Frederick Newman 18 Mill Drive, Henfield, England Filed Apr. 22, 1968, Ser. No. 723,218 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 26, 1967, 19,117/ 67 Int. Cl. F16g 15/02 US. Cl. 5985 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method and means of connecting pieces of jewelry to one another as a result of mechanical interengagement only. The interengaged parts can and preferably are, deformed as by a pair of pliers.

This invention relates to methods and means of securing pieces of jewelry to one another and is particularly concerned with the attachment of charms to charm bracelets, crosses to chains and safety chains to brooches.

At the present time, a charm is normally secured to a charm bracelet by means of a ring of precious metal which is passed through a further ring or loop on the charm and a link of the bracelet. The two ends of the ring are brought into juxtaposition and may be soldered, for example, by means of silver soldering. If the two ends of the ring are not soldered together, the ring may be opened and the charm detached from the bracelet if sufiicient force is applied thereto. Thus, the charm may be lost if it is accidentally subjected to excessive force. It is, therefore, preferable for the ends of the ring to be soldered, but this is an operation which cannot be performed easily and quickly in the shop in which the charm is purchased.

It is an object of the present invention to provide methods and means of securing pieces of jewelry one to another which do not suifer from the disadvantages of either of the systems referred to in the preceding paragraph.

From one aspect the invention consists in a method of securing one piece of jewelry to another, wherein an open ring of precious metal is passed through, or around, both pieces of jewelry and is thereafter closed by mechanical interengagement of the two ends of the ring.

From another aspect, the invention consists in means for securing one piece of jewelry to another, comprising a ring of precious metal, the two ends of which are designed for mechanical interengagement one with the other.

In one form of the invention in which the ring is formed from material having a circular cross-section, one end of the ring is formed into a spigot and the other end is formed into a socket. The ring is closed by inserting the spigot in the socket and is maintained in the closed position by compression of the socket around the spigot. If necessary, the joint may be made even more secure by crimping, that is to say, by applying sufficient force at one or more points to produce a depression or depressions in the spigot, material from the socket being caused to enter said depression or depressions.

In view of the difliculty in producing an axial hole in the end of a thin wire ring, the socket of said other end of the ring may be replaced, for example, by a flattened portion of the wire which is caused to embrace the spigot when the joint is made. In such an arrangement, it may 3,552,119 Patented Jan. 5, 1971 be unnecessary to produce a spigot at the first end of the Wire, since the flattened area may be made large enough to embrace the full diameter of the wire.

In order to obtain even greater security, both ends of the ring may be flattened in such a way as to produce ears projecting in opposite directions. In making the joint, the two ends of the wire are put in overlapping relationship so that each pair of ears may be caused to embrace the wire behind the other pair of cars. In this case, it is to be understood that opening of the ring in the plane of the ring is prevented by interengagement between the respective pairs of cars and opening of the ring in directions normal to the plane of the ring is prevented by the ears gripping the wire.

Since it is relatively difficult to produce the required end shapes for this form of the invention from wire of circular cross-section, it is preferable that the rings should be constructed from fiat material. In this case, each ring may be stamped from a sheet of material, the required ears being produced in the stamping operation. Preferably, the ears are bent to a position in which they are perpendicular to the plane of the ring, either in the initial stamping operation or as a separate operation performed before the ring is put into use.

In all the forms of the invention described, the joint between the two ends of the ring may be formed by means of a simple tool at the time when the jewelry is purchased and a completely safe joint is made without the necessity for a special workshop operation.

The present invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the means for securing one piece of jewelry to another, said embodiment being in accordance with the present invention; and

FIGS. 2 and 3, FIGS. 4 and 5, FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate, respectively, four further embodiments of the means for securing one piece of jewelry to another, all embodiments being in accordance with the present invention Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a means for securing one piece of jewelry to another, comprising an open ring 10 of precious metal of which the two ends 11, 12 are designed for mechanical interengagement with one another. The end 11 will be seen to consist of two ears 13, 14 each of which is five-sided, one side 15 of each car being indicated by a dotted line which is curved and the two sides 15 being parallel to one another because they are coincident with arcs drawn from the centre Y1. Another side 16 of each ear is angled in the manner or to the extent illustrated for a purpose hereinafter referred to, and said end 11 begins at the line 17 and terminates at the terminal edge 18. The end 12 is provided with a neck portion 20 which at one end thereof terminates in two shoulders or sides 21 and which at the other end thereof terminates in two shoulders or sides 22, said neck portion 20 having curved parallel sides 23 which are coincident with arcs drawn from the centre Y2. It will be seen that the two sides 21, the two sides 22 and the terminal edge 24 of the end 12 are contained, respectively, in planes which extend through the centre Y2 and which are normal to the surface of the drawing containing FIG. 1, the end 12 beginning with said sides 22 and the line joining them and terminating at the terminal edge 24-.

It will be seen that the open ring 10 consists of three segments of which the first extends, in an are drawn from the centre Y2, from the chain line 30 to the terminal edge 24 of the end 12; of which the second extends, in an are drawn from the centre Y3, from the chain line 30 to the chain line 31; and of which the third extends, in

an arc drawn from the centre Y1, from the chain line 31 to the terminal edge 18 of the end 11.

The open ring 10 is made in the following manner:

A sheet of fiat material is stamped to remove a central portion and also a strip which is connected by one of its ends to said central portion. The central portion will, when removed, establish or create the radially inner periphery f the ring extending from the point A in a clockwise direction to the point B and this radially inner periphery will not require further forming steps except as discussed below. Said strip which is connected to the central portion will, when removed, form a slot which will be located somewhere between the terminal edges 18, 24.

Those portions of the sheet which extend in a clockwise direction from the point B and in an anti-clockwise direction from the point A, respectively, towards the slot mentioned in the preceding paragraph are now subjected to a flattening operation as a result of which the material of which the sheet is made will be caused to spread or flow radially inwardly in the general direction of the centres Y1, Y2, Y3 and radially outwardly. The flattening operations are restricted to the portions mentioned above with the result that a step or shoulder is formed which is coincident with the line 17 and a further step is formed which is coincident with the line which joins the two shoulders or sides '22. It will be noted from FIG. 1 that the step which is coincident with the line 17 is formed in the upper surface of the ring 10 which is being formed (that is, the surface which is visible in FIG. 1) and that the step which is coincident with the dotted line which joins the shoulders or sides 22 is formed in the lower surface of the ring which is being formed with the result that said dotted line also correctly designates the step which exists at that point but which cannot be seen in FIG. 1.

The ring 10 which is being formed is now subjected to a stamping operation which leads to the formation of the ends 11, 12 and also to the formation of the radially outer periphery of said ring with the exception of a small portion extending over a region indicated by way of example by the reference letter C, said ring remaining joined over this region C to the sheet from which the ring is being formed. As a result of this stamping operation, the ends 11, 12 are completely formed and will possess the shapes illustrated in FIG. 1.

The ears 13, 14 are turned up through approximately 90 along the dotted lines 15, the direction of turning up resulting in the ears standing upwardly from the plane of the ring towards the viewer.

The ring being formed is now subjected to an operation as a result of which the end 12 or at least the terminal edge 24 thereof will be located in a different horizontal plane from that in which the terminal edge 18 of the end 11 is located. This is achieved by making the ring 10 assume the configuration of part of a helix.

The ring 10 being complete, at least from the ring manufacture point of view, may now be cropped off the sheet of material over the region C referred to above.

Some of the operations which have been described as being distinct operations above may, of course, be combined, thus for example, the stamping operation which leads to the formation of the ends 11, 12 and the creation of the radially outer periphery of the ring 10 with the exception of the region C could be combined with the operation of turning up the ears 13, 14 along the lines 15.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that if the ring 10 is cut from sheet material, the section through any part of the ring will be rectangular. It has been found to be of advantage, however, to give to the ring a lenticular section at least over that portion of the ring which extends from point A in a clockwise direction to point B.

The ring 10 thus manufactured is dealt with in retail jewelers, for example, in the following manner. The open ring 10 is deformed by application of pressure to diametrically opposed parts of the ring, said pressure being supplied substantially in the directions indicated by the arrows D. Such deformation will not only cause the centres Y1 and Y2 to become coincident or substantially coincident but will also result in the shoulders or sides 21 of the end 12 to be moved into contact with the sides 16 of the ears 13, 14. As these sides 16 are angled and as there will be a tendency for the end 12 to try to return to the position previously occupied by it, the shoulders or sides 21 will be cammed or will slide down the camming edges or sides 16 until the lower face of the end 12 which is invisible in FIG. 1 is in contact with the upper face of the end 11 which is visible in FIG. 1. Thereafter, the ears 13, 14 are folded down one at a time so as to overlie the neck portion 20.

Referring now briefly to the remaining figures of drawings, in FIGS. 2 and 3 there are illustrated two ends 40, 41 of an open ring of which the end 40 is represented as a spigot and of which the end 41 is represented in FIGS. 2 and 3 as being of U-section. It is not essential that the end 41 be of U-section and as an alternative it may merely consist of a slit extending diarnetrally of the ring, assuming the ring to be of circular section. It will be appreciated that the spigot is intended to become located in the channel 42 of the end 41, said spigot being provided with dimples or even a continuous circumferential groove 43, the arrangement being such that when the spigot has been caused to become located in the channel 42 the end 41 can be suitably deformed (as, for example, by a pair of pliers) in order to cause the material constituting said end 41 to flow into the dimples or groove 43.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, there are illustrated two ends 50, 51 of an open ring of which the end 50 is formed with a peg 52 (see FIG. 5) which is adapted to be inserted into a complementary hole or recess 53 therefor in the end 51. Said hole or recess may be countersunk or otherwise relieved and the peg 52 and hole or recess 53 may be round or square in section or of any other section. Furthermore, the peg 52 may be of such dimensions as will permit an end portion 54 thereof to be turned through an angle of substantially so as to constitute a more positive physical connection between the two ends 50 and 51.

Referring to FIG. 6, there are illustrated two ends 60, 61 of an open ring of which the end 60 is similar to the end 40 described above with reference to FIG. 2 and of which the end 61 is illustrated as having a centrallylocated bore 62 therein which is adapted to accommodate the end 60. Said end 60 may have a spring-loaded plunger portion 63 therein in order to provide one form of physical connection between the two ends 60, 61 but it is thought that it will in general be more convenient to provide either dimples or a circumferential groove 64 in the end 60.

Referring to FIG. 7, two ends 70, '71 have been illustrated, each end being substantially hook-shaped in section as can be clearly seen from the drawing, the two hook sections being complementary.

As a further alternative, it will be appreciated that each of the ends of the open ring 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, could be provided with ears identical with or similar to the ears 13, 14, the arrangement in that case being such that the ears on each end will be folded down against a portion of the other end.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Means for securing two pieces of jewelry together, comprising:

(a) an open ring of precious metal having first and second ends;

(b) the first end of said ring having a reduced crosssection, a shoulder separating said first end from the main body of the ring, said shoulder extending perpendicular to the plane of the ring, an elongate flat face on said first end extending from the free end thereof to said shoulder and lying substantially in the plane of the ring so that said first end is disposed substantially to one side of the plane of the ring;

(c) a pair of ears projecting laterally from the opposite edges of said flat face at the free end portion thereof, one .side of each ear being generally flush with the extreme end edge of the flat surface and the opposite side of each ear being tapered inwardly from the outer end thereof to the base thereof to define camming edges on said ears;

portion of said second end, said projecting means adapted to coact with said tapered camming edges on said ears when said first and second ends are placed in juxtaposition with said projecting means behind said ears to guide or cam said ends together with said faces in overlapping flush abutting contact with one another, said ears adapted to be folded around said reduced neck portion and crimped to secure the ends of said ring together.

(d)the second end of said ring havinga reduced 10 cross-section, a shoulder separating said second end from the main body of the ring, said shoulder extending perpendicular to the plane of the ring and References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS on the opposite side thereof from said shoulder at g g E said first end, an elongate flat face on said second end 15 1 286501 12/1918 2 2 59:85 substantially coextensive with the face on said first 1449O92 3/1923 B ns 59 85 end and extending from the free end thereof to said 3427823 21969 3 59:85

shoulder, said face lying substantially in the plane of the ring so that said second end is disposed on the opposite side of the plane of the ring from said first end;

(e) a reduced neck portion on said second end intermediate the shoulder and the free end thereof;

(f) projecting means extending laterally from the end 0 CHARLES W. LAN'HAM, Primary Examiner G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 59-90; 633 

